Faculty

meet our expert faculty

Aruni Nan Futuronsky, is a Kripalu Yoga teacher and the senior Life Coach and Program Advisor for Kripalu Healthy Living programs. She has been teaching in a variety of venues for more than 35 years, and has been on the Kripalu faculty for more than 20. Author of Recovering My Voice: A Memoir of Chaos, Spirituality, and Hope and Already Home: Stories of a Seeker, she developed the Kripalu coaching methodology based in presence and right action. Aruni’s experience is rooted in a long-term commitment to a Twelve-Step program and the practice of living yoga. www.coacharuni.com

Annie B. Kay, MS, RDN, LDN, RYT, is Lead Nutritionist at Kripalu. Author of the award-winning Every Bite Is Divine, she is also an integrative dietitian and a Kripalu Yoga teacher. Annie is the former director of the Osteoporosis Awareness Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. For nearly 20 years, she has been an advocate for science-based mind-body health in the national media, at conferences and workshops, and through her writing. She knits, cooks, gardens, and writes. www.everybiteisdivine.com

Lisa B. Nelson, MD, is a longtime advocate for community wellness. She serves as medical director of the nonprofit Nutrition Center in Great Barrington and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and has led numerous public workshops that underscore the connection between food and health. She and her husband are practicing family physicians. Lisa Nelson received her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, and completed residency in family medicine at Boston Medical Center.

Maria Sirois, PsyD, is an inspirational speaker and clinical psychologist who lectures internationally on the study and application of Positive Psychology, mind-body medicine, and resilience. She weaves together inspirational stories and poetry with data and research to enable people to move forward toward the life they most want—one filled with vitality, health, and meaning. Maria teaches frequently with Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, leading expert in the field of happiness. She is the author of Every Day Counts: Lessons in Love, Faith and Resilience, used as a teaching tool in wellness centers, hospices, and hospitals around the country. www.mariasirois.com

Kathie Madonna Swift, MS, RDN, LDN, FAND is an inspiring educator, innovator, and practitioner in the field of integrative and holistic nutrition. A pioneer in the “Food As Medicine” culinary nutrition movement, she is author of The Swift Diet: 4 Weeks to Mend the Belly, Lose the Weight and Get Rid of the Bloat and The Inside Tract: Your Good Gut Guide to Great Digestive Health.www.kathieswift.com

John Bagnulo, PhD, holds a doctorate in food and nutrition sciences from the University of Maine and a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina. John served as nutritionist at Kripalu and at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires and is currently on the faculty of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine. A frequent lecturer on topics including weight loss, detoxification, and chronic disease treatment and prevention, John is also a passionate mountain climber who reached the top of Mt. Everest. www.johnbagnulo.com

Larissa Hall Carlson, RYT 500, Dean of the Kripalu School of Ayurveda, guides retreats, directs trainings, and provides Ayurvedic consultations across the country. Each summer, she teaches yoga to reduce performance anxiety for the elite musicians of Tanglewood Music Center, and has taught courses for dedicated students at the Boston Conservatory, Juilliard School, Harvard, and Princeton. She is the creator of two CDs, Meditative Yoga Flow and Ayurvedic Pranayama. www.larissacarlson.com

Erin Casperson is the Academic Coordinator for the Kripalu School of Ayurveda (KSA), as well as an Ayurvedic Health Counselor and 500-hour yoga teacher. Prior to her current role, she served as KSA’s Resident Intern for two years. A passionate, heartfelt, and enthusiastic teacher, Erin loves sharing Ayurveda with others so that they can get closer to the truth of who they are. She has continued her study of yoga and Ayurveda with Hilary Garivaltis, Larissa Hall Carlson, Scott Blossom, John Doulliard, Vasant Lad, and Claudia Welch.

Michelle Dalbec, E-RYT 500, is a passionate Kripalu Yoga and Yoga Tune Up® teacher who hosts dynamic yoga programs and delivers motivational workshops. Michelle teaches with the intention to inspire authentic alignment, expression, and movement. Whether she’s teaching restorative yoga or vigorous vinyasa, meditation or conscious communication, she leads with an inquiry-based approach that empowers students to realize their full potential and individuality. Michelle believes that yoga is for everyone—a lifelong journey of self-discovery both on and off the mat. www.myoga.com

Janna Delgado, BFA, E-RYT 500, is Program Leader for the Kripalu Yoga in the Schools (KYIS) project with the Institute for Extraordinary Living and cofacilitator of KYIS teacher trainings. She has focused on enriching the lives of adolescents through yoga since 2008, combining her experience as a Kripalu Yoga teacher, Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist, and AFAA-certified fitness instructor with her background in acting to create meaningful collective experiences of yoga on the mat and in the world. Janna is also a faculty member for Kripalu Healthy Living programs.

Jurian Hughes, E-RYT 500, MFA, is a Kripalu Yoga teacher trainer, a Let Your Yoga Dance® trainer, and a Kripalu faculty member. She leads workshops and trainings at Kripalu and throughout the country that draw on her extensive experience in yoga, dance, movement, voice, and theater. Jurian holds degrees from Williams College and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Known for her passionate, playful, and inspiring teaching style, she is the creator of the DVD Gentle Kripalu Yoga with Jurian Hughes and the CD Deep and Delicious Yoga. www.jurianhughes.com

Izzy Lenihan is a certified life, career and wellness coach who has helped thousands of people make changes in all stages of their lives for more than 20 years. Founder of Prescription for Life, she is a recognized inspirational speaker, workshop leader, and program director for businesses, organizations, and community integrative-health programs. She has been running her own coaching business for eight years.

Cristie Newhart is a 500-hour Kripalu Yoga Teacher, yoga therapist, and teacher trainer for the Kripalu School of Yoga. She also leads Healthy Living programs and R&R Retreat workshops at Kripalu. With 15 years of yoga teaching experience, Cristie has a passion for introducing people to yoga. She leads grounded and balanced classes, inviting people into the practice with skillful alignment, meditative focus, and humor. Her CD, Getting Started: Yoga for Beginners, is forthcoming in Spring 2015.

Cat Pacini is Program Coordinator for the Kripalu School of Ayurveda, and also teaches R&ampR Retreat workshops and provides Ayurvedic consultations and bodywork sessions.

Jennifer Reis, E-RYT 500, Kripalu faculty member, director of Kripalu’s 200-hour yoga teacher training program, and Integrative Yoga Therapy faculty member, creates sacred space for students to journey into realms of deep peace and healing. An authentic and spirited leader, Jennifer has been teaching for nearly 20 years and is the creator of Divine Sleep Yoga Nidra and Five Element Yoga. Her CD, Divine Sleep Yoga Nidra, is the best-selling CD in the Kripalu Shop. www.jenniferreisyoga.com

Jeremy Rock Smith, Kripalu’s Executive Chef, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and began his career in classical French cuisine, working in fine restaurants in the United States and abroad. In 2005, Jeremy’s love for teaching and natural foods led him to Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires, where he applied his classical training to creating healthy cuisine in their kitchen and as a demonstration chef. He joined Kripalu in 2010 as Chef de Cuisine.

Lara Tupper, is the author of A Thousand and One Nights (Harcourt), a novel about finding ones path, which is currently being adapted into a screenplay. An instructor of writing at Rutgers University for nearly a decade, she now presents writing workshops for Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. Her work has appeared in Six-Word Memoirs (Harper Perennial) and many literary magazines. Lara is a proud member of the Authors Guild and a participant in the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. www.laratupper.com

Randal Williams, E-RYT, is a teacher trainer and Curriculum Manager for the Kripalu Schools of Yoga and Ayurveda. With 20 years experience as a workshop facilitator, Randal brings a deep understanding of yoga, natural inquiry, and an inspiring mindfulness to his teachings. www.yoga-educator.org

Angela Wilson, MA, is a Kripalu faculty member and Project Leader for the Institute for Extraordinary Living’s Frontline Providers program, working with leading scientists to document the program’s impact on health, well-being, and quality of care for community service providers. Angela holds a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Lesley University and is a regular contributor to Yoga International and Yoga Therapy Today, where she writes about the intersection between yoga, Western psychology, and science.

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About

Kripalu Healthy Living programs blend current research on integrative medicine and nutrition with the ancient wisdom of yoga and Ayurveda. Our caring team of professionals focuses on the connection between body, heart, mind, and spirit to create healing and true wellness.